Dual-purpose vaporizer



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4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to steam vaporizers adapted for use in sickroomsfor the relief of colds, croup and other Irespiratory ailments.

At present, the vaporizers fon the market for home use are adapted tocontain only a limited amount of water or other liquid, so that theliquid becomes exhausted after a couple of hours use. On the other hand,it is some times desirable that the vaporizer be run all night or evenlonger without having to replenish the liquid.

According to my invention, I have provided a vaporizer of moderate sizeand cost adapted either for short or long period runs. For this purpose,I provide an extra container which is not used under normal conditions,but which may be filled and placed on top of the normal container forlong runs and which automatically feeds liquid into the lower containeras the water in the latter boils away.

Other features and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing more detailed description.

Referring to the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of myinvention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of my steam vaporiZ-er withmy extra or auxiliary liquid container in use in addition to the normalcontainer;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the lower o-r primary containeronly and its supporting stand;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the lower container and its supportingstand; and

Fig. 4 is a cross section approximately on line 4-4 in Fig. 2 throughthe heating element.

My primary liquid container is shown in the form of a jar I of glass orother suitable insulating material. The jar has an open top for which ascrewcap 2 is provided. The body portion 3 of the cap is preferably madeof insulating material such as po-rcelain, the same being clamped to thejar by metallic ring 4, crimped on body 3 and provided with screwthreads 5 to engage corresponding threads on the exterior of the top ofthe jar. The cap 3 is provided with at least two apertures, namely,central aperture 5 and smaller aperture l. The former is shown asextending through the rai-sed or thickened central portion of theporcelain top to provide a hole of substantial length, for a purposehereinafter developed. Aperture 6 is also preferably outwardly beveledat the top to form a seat B for a rubber washer 9, hereinafterdescribed, or a stopper I0. In normal use the stopper is used to preventthe escape of steam through aperture 5.

Aperture 'I communicates with a small container or cup II which is shownriveted to the top 3 by a hollow rivet or short tube I2, which alsoleads the steam from the jar into the cup I I. A detachable cap I3 isshown on top of the cup which has a small spout I4 through which thesteam issues in use. On the underside of the cap is shown a wire holderI5 for absorbent material such as cotton I6, which may be impregnatedwith a lsuitable medicament, if desired. As the steam passes through thecup it picks up the vapors from the medicament and carries them into theroom with the steam plume.

The heating element shown is of the electrode type consisting of a pairof carbon rods II, I8 electrically connected at the top to contactprongs I9. The rods are preferably enclosed in an insulating housing 2lipreferably made of porcelain. The housing is preferably open at thebottom and at one side to permit circulation of the water past theelectrodes as it is heated .by passage of the electric currenttherethrough. Preferably, the open side of the container is faced towardthe adjacent wall of the jar, i. e., away from the middle of the jar andaway from both the aper-I tures 6 and 1 for reasons hereafter developed.

The metal stand or platform 2| for1 the jar is shown having a broad baseto prevent overturning. The stand has sheet metal uprights 22 and 23which are secured together at a midpoint by ring 24 adapted to looselyfit the jar near its top. The uprights 22 and 23 are further joined nearthe top by semicircular ring 25 which does not extend over the cup IIbut does extend over the aforesaid prongs I9. The upright-s may beformed into handles 23 as shown for convenience in lifting.

When it is desired to use the device a detachable electric plug 26 ispushed over the prongs, thus sending current through the connectionswithin the porcelain top 3 to the electrodes I'I and I8. Thesemicircular ring 25 overlies the plug so that the jar cannot be removedfrom its stand without first removing the plug and it may also be notedthat the top of the jar cannot be unscrewed from the jar withoutremoving the plug= since the plug will engage either upright 22 or 23 ifthe top is rotated more than 90 degrees in either direction. In thismanner, the danger of shock to the user from live, wet electrodes iscompletely avoided.

My auxiliary liquid container is shown at 21 in the form of a secondglass jar or bottle having a detachable screw cap 28. The cap ispreferably provided with a central hole from which a relatively longtube 29 projects. The rubber Washer 9 above referred to is placed aroundthe base of the tube. When it is desired to use the auxiliary container,it is first lled or partially lled with water by removing the cap. Thecap is then replaced and the jar is turned upside down with the thumbover the bottom of the tube 29 and inserted in the aperture 6 in top 3on jar I with washer 9 seated in aperture 8. Preferably a thin washer 30is interposed between the cap 28 of jar 2 and the top 3 of jar 1o I toinsure a firm fit and avoid rattling. Atmospheric pressure will preventthe water from running from the upper jar to the lower jar until theliquid level in the lower jar partially uncovers the open end of thetube, so that the upper jar will keep feeding water into the lower jarto maintain this level. While thewater in the upper jar will becomesomewhat warm, it will not become hot enough to burn the hand because nosteam escapes into the upper jar. Furthermore, by placing the opening inthe insulator 20 surrounding the electrodes away from the tube 29,'thesteam bubbles and the circulating hot water are kept away from the tubeand also away from the opening 1 through which the 25 steam emerges. Inthis manner, the danger of drawing drops of hot water out with the steamis avoided and also the water in the top jar is not overheated.

It should be noted that when theauxiliary jar 21 is in place, the tube29 extends down into the jar i through elongated hole 5 with which itforms a snug t, so that the jar 27 cannot be tipped over or out of thelower jar without tipping over the lower jar and its stand, thusinsuring the stability of the device.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that in my invention, I providereally two vaporizers in one, namely, a small vaporizer which is adaptedfor short inhalation of one to two hours and a much larger capacityvaporizer which will deliver 12-15 hours of continuous steam withoutreplenishing. Yet I have maintained the size of the vaporizer quitesmall and by my dual arrangement the metallic parts are keptsubstantially as small as a standard small capacity vaporizer.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense What isclaimed is:

y l. A steam vaporizer for medicinal purposes comprising a primaryliquid container open at the top, a detachable cover therefor ofsubstantial thickness and having an elongated downwardly extendingopening therethrough, an immersion heating element secured to theunderside of said cover and adapted to normally project into saidcontainer, an auxiliary liquid container having an opening in the bottomthereof, a detachable cap for said opening adapted to rest on the top ofsaid cover when said auxiliary container is in use, and a tube extendingdownwardly from said cap and adapted to pass `through and snugly it saidelongated opening and be guided thereby whereby said auxiliary containercannot be tipped over on said primary container and water is fed asneeded from the auxiliary to the primary container.

2. A vaporizer as claimed in claim 1, having a guard stand for theprimary container only, the auxiliary container, when in use, beingprevented from tipping over by its tube projecting downwardly into theprimary container, through said elongated aperture in said cover.

3. A steam vaporizer as claimed in claim 1, in which said elongatedopening is flared at the top, and said tube has a tapered washertherearound at its juncture with said cap on said auxiliary containeradapted to be seated in said flared opening 4. A steam vaporizer asclaimed in claim 1, also having a container for a medicine attached-tothe top of the cap for the primary container, there being an openingthrough said cap into said last-named container and a steam emittingexit thereon, said container being located and fitting between said twocaps when the auxiliary container is in place.

SAMUEL DUBERSTEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,292,759 Granger Jan. 28, 19191,659,970 Chouinard Feb. 21, 1923 1,857,181 Collins May 10, 19321,878,587 Lawner Sept. 20, 1932 1,981,765 Weiss Nov. 20', 1934 2,076,709Deutsch Apr. 13, 1937 2,535,516 Resek Dec. 26, 1950 2,542,529 Hunt Feb.20,1951

